Hope's Frybread — Restaurant in Mesa

It was busy when I walked in just before noon. The dining area was about half full, with people waiting for their orders. The cook staff were busy prepping and cooking orders, and they seemed to work together very well.

I wasn't greeted with an audible "Ya'at'eeh" or a "Hello, welcome to Hope's Frybread. Yaada yaada yaada." But I'm ok with that. Later on, I did see the owner greet with a noticeable "Hello." On the other hand, Navajos do criticize based on perceived biases. I'm just here for the food.

I ordered the Navajo Burger - Single with pasta salad. I can say I was surprised. I debated within as I ordered the burger with whether or not to order the Lamb Sandwich with green chili. Judging by the lack of other Lamb Sandwich orders on the grill, I decided to play it safe.

Some ratings I read as I was waiting for my order were to me a bit biased like I said. Yet for the best reviews, there weren't many Diné reviews, too. Now I get to the frybread.

I was glad to see Bluebird Flour in the building. That is absolutely the best for Navajo or for any frybread. I watched how the frybread was made from the counter. I say it was an interesting process. It's not the typical method, but it works. It is also the first time I've seen canola oil sprayed onto the ball of dough just before it was mechanically pressed into a starting round flat piece of dough.

From there, it was just like home. The dough was shaped to it's final size by hand. A cast iron skillet in the stove was the absolute final stop for all pieces of Navajo frybread dough. It was good to see.

I did have one concern and this is where the food lost the one star. The dough balls looked a little sticky for my tastes. What I saw did translate into what I was given. The frybread was a little on the tough side. Although it was a bit tough, the flavor was there, spot on. It didn't diminish from all of the condiments, toppings, and the burger meat. Over all, the burger was delicious. Improve on the frybread and it'll be an easy 5 star burger.

The cup of macaroni salad was a perfect pairing with this sandwich. Extra carbs but oh well. 😁

Once the addition is opened, I'm sure they won't have trouble keeping it full. I'll return regardless, one day. Then I'll order the Lamb Sandwich. One more thing, my criticism may seem unfair on the frybread, but it's better than the rest. Trust me, I've tried most here in the Valley. But a Navajo grandmother's frybread is always the best and...

It seems there is No Hope in Hopes Frybread customer service… After a long morning at the kiddos football game, we decided to try Hopes Frybread. Vendors were outside the door which was cool to see. Who doesn’t like to eat and then shop? 😀 As I was ordering food, I could hardly hear the guy at the register because the music was kinda loud. I paid about $66 dollars including a fee to use my credit card. for a Navajo Taco extra meat, 2 meet Navajo burger, and Lamb sandwhich, 2 fountain drinks. I wondered why it cost a bit much, so after looking at the receipt, the guy charged me and extra Navajo taco. I let him know and he ended up giving me 12.50 back in cash. I asked about refund back to my card and the tax on that. He said he was told by Hope to only refund for the amount of the item in cash; which I thought was weird. We found a table, but they only have 3 tables (2 small and 1 big). Not sure how the restaurant would fit someone with accessible seating since it was a first come first service basis. When I got my Navajo Taco order, it was wrong and I sent it back. Waited 10 min. No follow up from the manager/server. So I bugged them about an update, then it finally brought out…and there was a hair in my food 🤢. I sent it back again, waited 10 min again…and thankfully 3rd time was a charm. As these issues proceeded there no check in from the manager. This was disappointing. She was only chatting with people she knew and focused on a display of hair ties 🤨. However, the Food is made fresh. I liked that fresh ground beef is used for the food. My mom liked the lamb sandwhich. My son like his Navajo burger. Overall, it was ok. But I wouldn’t come back again due to the lack of customer service and poor first time experience. My favorite part was seeing the vendors outside the restaurant. I am a big supporter of small and Indigenous businesses, but as any other expectation for a restaurant business, top notch service, and quality food and experience is a must. After today’s experience, It seems there is No hope in Hopes Frybread...

5/4/24: HEADS UP! it is not as small as it looks. There is an additional seating room to the left ... but no one will probably tell you that.

So, we stopped in this particular Saturday for an early dinner, around 4 o'clock. It is clearly a new building as many of the suites are still being built; the parking lot is a nice size.

We walked in and I thought, wow, it's a small place. There were two, four-people tables, and one for eight, plus maybe about eight or 12 seats at the counter. The gal at the register did not smile at any of us. That was a bit off-putting, and def not a good start to the experience.

We ordered our meals and sat the the eight-person table as the other two were taken. The counter area was full. I saw three other people back there, beside the register gal. None of them were smiling. The only gal that I actually did see crack a smile was the one who brought us our food.

Shortly after this, a large group of people came in. We all looked at each other, wondering where they were going to sit (we did NOT know about the extra seating behind the wall that we sat at). They placed their orders and were milling around the fountain drink machine. About seven minutes later, one of the guys at the counter turned around and told them about the extra room for seating. Really? So you have four people behind the counter, seeing all these customers standing around, taking up space, blocking the fountain drinks, and you're standing there talking to other customers at the counter the entire time and it takes you that long to tell these poor people "oh, there's some more seats in the back room".

Wow, just wow. This lack of customer care, and the fact that only one out of four workers smiled, is why Hope's gets three stars, not more.

The food was good, but the service,...